2016: The good, the bad and the future of digital marketing

It’s no longer particularly over yet, but 2016 has been busy. As I envisioned final yr, cellular has been a specific focal point for almost every marketer and we’re slowly commencing to peer VR and wearable technological know-how take off.

I’ve located it interesting to look how companies have started to scope out new and artistic methods to include all of those applied sciences and opportunities into their advertising approaches.

However, while some of my predictions grew to become out to be really accurate, there have also been more than a few surprises over the final 12 months.

Listed below are a couple of probably the most surprising developments that have taken off this yr, two of the biggest digital disappointments and my personal trend choose for 2017.
The shock revival of silent video

one of the vital unexpected developments that made an actual comeback this yr was once silent video. Over 80% of web customers own a smartphone, however natural video viewing time is 1.7 seconds, meaning buyers are in fast consumption mode and marketers have needed to come to be even savvier at grabbing their concentration.

What this means is there’s a real want for content that packs a punch at the opening of the clip. If you happen to most effective have a miniscule amount of time to grab a patron’s awareness before they scroll previous, then the video desires to have an instant hook.

A best illustration of this is the social media clip that Apple pushed out following the discharge of the brand new iPhone 7. The advert is fully silent and simplistic in nature, with every body altering every 0.5 seconds.

In an age the place most of us have our smartphones on silent, Apple has managed to notice a method to capture our attention in the most straight-ahead of ways.
Hail to the group managers

2016 has also become the yr of the neighborhood manager. It’s long-established for manufacturers to think of social as a one trick pony, but the brands which are succeeding on social don’t simply have someone time table 10 tweets a day and like the occasional @ remark.

The manufacturers that allow their group managers to grow to be the human face of the company add an extra dimension to their social media capabilities and furnish the purchaser with an actual sense of personality.

Some manufacturers that particularly understand how to do that are innocent Drinks, Tesco, Virgin Trains and Oreo. They fully grasp the importance of using empowered neighborhood managers and hopefully, 2017 must see more manufacturers following in their footsteps.
The main issue with are living content material

Of all of the successes and surprises in 2016, one of the most more moderen advertising approaches are still proving problematical.

Such is a live content material. it simply isn’t figuring out. Regardless of the expertise, all too many manufacturers still don’t seem to realize find out how to effectively manipulate are living content material.

Perhaps the construction price is simply too low, the content material is too tedious, the performance is damaged… Ultimately, without a excessive value trade, are living content is under no circumstances going to have any influence with consumers.

One illustration of a company that has quite nailed are living content material, nonetheless, is Experian. It holds straight-forward, weekly chats via YouTube live, Snapchat and Periscope to speak straight with purchasers about their cash issues.

Experian knows that for are living content to work, firms need to accept that what a company thinks is fascinating for shoppers is not often what they will surely spend time staring at.

For extra on this matter, examine 10 pioneering examples of brands using facebook reside.
Where are the iBeacons?

Again in 2014, I used to be convinced that retail use of iBeacons would quickly take centre stage in our advertising systems.

We all saw the advantage and a few huge manufacturers bought on board Virgin used them in its Heathrow airport lounges and Macy’s rolled them out in over 800 stores to track consumer movements in-store, push product strategies and reductions and to notify consumers about sale gadgets.

However regardless of these examples, they just haven’t made it to the mainstream yet.

Regardless of predictions that eighty five of the top one hundred retailers can be utilising them with the aid of the top of 2016, best three% of retailers had implemented beacon technological know-how with the aid of 2015 and best 16% had plans to put in force them in the close future.

So what’s the keep up? Well, they are able to be difficult to control and preserve from a logistical factor of view, as all beacon advertising requires consumer opt-in and consumers simply aren’t bought on it yet.

This would change in 2017 but my wager is that it’ll be a gradual method earlier than they begin to end up a regular part of our marketing efforts.
The democracy of content material

sufficient about 2016, let’s seem to the long run.

In 2017, brands ought to be equipped to have interaction and attach with their shoppers higher than ever before (one quality instance of this is Philips daily Hero campaign). Nowadays nevertheless, corporations aren’t simply competing with one more brand’s advertising and marketing anymore; they’re competing with the entire web and this is where it starts to get tricky.

Any corporation hoping to inspire regular engagement has to take delivery of that buyers now have access to tools (like Boomerang and Hyperlapse) that can outcome in higher, extra attractive pieces of video content than the stuff among the brands are constructing themselves.

Prior this yr, a survey observed that 85% of users to find visible person-generated content (UGC) more influential than manufacturer snap shots or movies. An additional record discovered patrons who engage with UGC are 97% extra seemingly to convert with a retailer than customers who do not.

What this implies is we are able to anticipate to see a large surge in entrepreneurs working with UGC in 2017. It’s nothing new (Burberry launched its artwork of Trench website again in 2009 for illustration), however I wouldn’t be surprised if it speedily becomes a much more common function of manufacturer campaigns.

So roll on 2017. I’m watching forward to discovering out if I’m proper!

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STEPHENAKINTAYO

Stephen Akintayo, also known as Africa’s premier Digital Marketing consultant is a Serial Entrepreneur, Inspirational speaker, Author and Philanthropist. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Stephen Akintayo Consulting International and Gtext Media and Investment Limited, a leading firm in Nigeria whose services span from Digital Marketing, Real Estate, and Consulting; Other services include Media Management, SME House, and hosts of others.